During WWII, the island of Catalina was closed to tourists and utilized for military training. Avalon became the west coast training center for the US Maritime Service, the US Coastguard was based in Two Harbors, the US Army Signal Corps set up base at Camp Cactus and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was located at Toyon Bay.
When war ended in 1945, this beautiful spot 19.6 miles off the Southern California mainland began to get back to normal, and we assume Rusty’s Tahitian Room was part of that effort. With tourists returning and many military men still stationed there, this restaurant is likely to have been a popular hangout. We don’t know anything about the owner- except that his name was Rusty and that he had an off-beat sense of humor.
There are many jokes on the menu – typical of the era - and the Tahitian name was probably a reference to early tiki culture that would become a full-blown craze in the 1950s and 1960s. This menu mentions OPS (Office of Price Standards) the regulated prices to stop inflation during wartime. This ended in 1947 so we assume this menu is dated shortly before this, around 1946.

Each order includes a print of the interior menu.

All printed in USA.